Apple used to sell wonder. Now it sells fear | Hacker News Reader

Apple used to sell wonder. Now it sells fear

fastcompany.com

32 pointselorant32 comments

Well now I feel slightly stupider for clicking on this fearmongering rag of an article and giving the publisher an extra CPM it most assuredly did not deserve.

So Apple is highlighting the new safety features in their watches and phones and apparently this is a bad thing. Because you should bleed out on the side of the highway after a accident like a real 'Merican!

The marketing message for the Ultra is to a specific group of folk who do those things like hiking, extremes sports, etc. This watch isn't really targeted at grandma so hardly selling "fear".

It's a fine line between fear and reassurance. The first time I did an ultra event my wife and I didn't even consider that I wouldn't have cellular connectivity in southern Georgia. When it took longer than I told it would (because, of course it did) she got worried because it appeared I was stopped and not moving for a long time. She was about to call the race organizer when I finally got cell coverage again and texted her.

After that I agreed to buy a Spot device which is very expensive, bulky, and the interface (at least 4 years ago) isn't great. But it shows her my location anywhere in the world. The iPhone 14 does the same thing and it's just included.

Speaking of the watch, how large can the diving watch market segment be?

I am very curious if those diving watch features will drive enough purchases to cover their dev costs.

Maybe it is a bigger market segment than I think.

it has to be pretty small, even amongst those who dive. My wife dives for a living and in thick gloves she can barely use her big analog Citizen. Not only that, I can't imagine how fast she'd break the face on it. I would guess the market is more for people who add diving in the long list of hobbies they enjoy.

I think it's larger in the same way that, for example, the amount of 4x4 vehicle owners out there far outnumber the amount of people who have ever driven their vehicles terrain that requires 4x4 capabilities.

If you look at the diving devices with similar functionality, they start at 999$ and go shooting through the roof. There's high margins to be made here as opposed to volume shipping IMO

I bought one as soon as I saw it was usable as a dive computer.

$800 for a dive computer that I’d also wear as a daily watch is a steal - I’ve been procrastinating buying a dive computer because the ones that wirelessly integrate with air supply are super expensive $1000+. I don’t see any announcement of wireless air integration for the new watch yet, but I’m hoping Oceanic capitalizes on their partnership with Apple by adding Bluetooth to their transmitter (https://www.oceanicworldwide.com/product/computers/transmitt...)

My partner might get one too after we test mine out. We have 10+ friends who a) already have and enjoy Apple Watch and b) are scuba certified. I don’t think any of them have a Garmin/Suunto type sports watch yet…

I was wondering... does bluetooth work underwater? Perhaps by occasionally bringing the watch very close to the regulator?

It's super short range - like cm of range because water is really good at absorbing 2.4ghz. Other diving accessories for Apple devices use Bluetooth as a bridge to their own radio / features, so maybe a slide-on case or watch band could add an adapter to a Mhz radio.

> The marketing message for the Ultra is to a specific group of folk who do those things like hiking, extremes sports, etc.

Which is quite odd. I myself go out for days and sometimes weeks, and one of the main features I look for is battery life and power management.

With a midtier Garmin Fenix I can easily get a week's worth of battery, and if I really need I can extend that up to maybe 20 days or so.

The Apple Watch just doesn't cut it. Can you imagine being out in a freezing mountain and having to charge the watch every day or run the risk of not being able to call up directions or help?

I also rock climb with my Fenix sapphire and except for a few light scratches on the titanium bezel, the watch is pristine despite the many crunchy scrapes and hits on hard rock. I'd love to know how well Apple's compare to that.

Like people who buy huge pickup trucks but never haul anything, the marketing is for people who aspire to do those things is much bigger than those who actually do them.

Thats way too small a group to sell to.

Apple is selling to those who aspire to do those tings.

I was skeptical about the Apple Watch when it was released. No one had made a compelling use case for wearables and it seemed like Apple was set to follow in those footsteps.

People forget but the Apple Watch was originally market as a luxury product in the same way brands like Gucci and Louis Vitton are. I mean Apple hired the former Burberry CEO to head up their retail stores. This wasn't an accident. There was even a $10,000 edition of the first Apple Watch, which was the stupidest thing ever. Luxury watches work because mechanical watches are essentially timeless. Digital rot ensures the Apple Watch will be unusuable in 3-4 years.

I really don't think the Apple Watch was envisioned as a device for health, safety and fitness/activity. Some of that was present early but if you pay attention to the features and the marketing this really switched a few generations in.

It seems like every generation gets a new feature. One got a (certified!) ECG. Now we have temperature sensors and crash protection. This trend will only continue. If someone can figure out how to get the watch to measure blood sugar it will be an absolute game changer for many people.

There is a huge market for these kinds of devices. Lots of people live alone. Particularly old people have these Life Lock devices to help them in case they fall and can't get up.

Is this really "selling fear"? Preventative medicine and emergency protection is a huge market. These things do happen. At some point I'm sure these devices will be able to detect the early signs of heart attacks or strokes. This absolutely provides value.

I hated the Apple Watch when it came out. It's just so ugly. It reminds me of the Hitchhikers to the Galaxy line about digital watches. If I'm going to wear a watch it's going to be analog.

But I had to wear one for a few weeks while working on a mobile app. I ended up asking to keep it, I had no idea it would end up being so useful. It really let me cut down on my screen time. And the less you take your phone out of your pocket the less chance you get sucked into the "oh, while I'm on my phone let me bring up the social media site".

Even now, the Apple Watch can connect to a Dexcom continuous glucose monitor. A friend uses it, and finds it indispensable. A flick of the wrist and you know your glucose, and which direction it's going.

It would be extraordinary if they could manage that without having to puncture the skin, but it's vastly easier and more effective than repeated finger pricking. The big needed improvement seems to be the insulin pump, which is great when it works but is finicky and requires frequent monitoring (and changing the infusion site, which is a rather distressing process to watch).

I would agree on the tone of the latest keynote, but I wouldn't say it's entirely a departure from their 1984 Macintosh commercial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtvjbmoDx-I

wow lol

It’s not like they said “don’t worry about dying, just stay at home and stare at our device and you’ll be safe”. They’re encouraging people to get outside, go diving, hiking, or running, get fit, take care of their health and mental well being. Devices aren’t the only thing to wonder at anymore, there’s a world out there to explore and wonder at that we’ve been missing due to our screen addictions. We are all craving ways to disconnect and the main appeal of the Apple Watch is that it allows you not have to use your phone or have FOMO. Building products that increase safety while helping people live their best lives is a smart move.

Are they? No. They aren't encouraging you to do anything besides giving them your money.

At least it’s the dream they’re selling

That is simply objectively untrue.

They are primarily encouraging us to give them our money. But they are also encouraging us to be more healthy, spend more time outside, etc. They can do both, it turns out.

Ok, how? Selling you a device?

They use words. Explicitly.

Apple holds events several times a year, observable by the public. Many, many people tend to watch them. In those events, they tell stories, they show ads, and they talk about the past, present, and future of their products and how people use them. In those events, they use many, many, many words, and among those words are encouragements to go outside, to be more physically fit, etc.

It's a few hours every year, they just had a 90-minute event this week. You should watch one sometime, apparently.

Do you need Apple to tell you whan to exercise?

This is bad faith nonsense. You can do better. Be better.

Weird take.

While watching the presentation I was thinking “this looks like cool stuff”. But FastCompany thought I should be afraid.

Is it a cultural or a personal divergence?

(a) while Apple is less playful than it used to be, that sense isn't entirely gone—the "Dynamic Island" interface element is a fun way to deal with the fact that there's a hole in the screen.

(b) the article says: "These examples implied something else entirely: The world is already on fire. You’re already getting burned. Just make sure that you live to tell the tale."

I mean... Apple isn't wrong.

There is a false feeling of security and absolute safety provided by this service. It is an illusion 99.99% of the times. There is another 0.009% when you are too far to get help in time. Then there is the 0.001 when you get lost in a canyon or harmed at rescue distance without cellular network -- the prominent case of that German family in a Canyon in California in a scorching day.

Maybe Apple knows its target audience? Rich first worlders who can afford a private helicopter.

Somewhere out there a rich yuppie looked at the ad and says “ahh yesss, that would be useful, I happen to use my private heli on a weekly basis”

That was the crappiest, ad-laden, site I’ve tried to read for awhile.

Quite hyperbolic when users actually demand these kind of things. Otherwise, products like Family360 wouldn't exist.

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